Citizen Series8 831 Mechanical Limited Edition
When Two Become One: Meet the New Citizen Premier Category
While continuing to celebrate its 100th Anniversary, Citizen unifies two of its popular lines – the Attesa and Series8 – into a singular new statement: The Citizen Premier category.
By Mike Espindle
Executive Editor
With a watchmaking ethos that is perennially looking forward, it certainly bears repeating that, in 2024, Citizen watches turned 100 years old and celebrated throughout the year, from a one-of-kind traveling exhibit to a limited edition (and auction lot-worthy) commemorative pocket watch to a top-rated watch tome.
This week, Citizen made another 100-year-celebrating statement with its week’s announcement of the Citizen Premier.
Establishing a new exclusive category for the watchmaker, the Citizen Premier unifies the brand’s dedication to sophisticated design and cutting-edge technology in movements and materials by combining the notable aesthetics, performance, and properties of its Series8 and Attesa collections under one name.
Series 8 Superiority
Relaunched in 2021, the Series8 collection set the stage for Citizen’s uncanny ability to create compelling, multi-talented automatic timepieces at an accessible price level.
Amazingly, in only a few years, the Series8 has become synonymous with flexible, bold, sporty timepiece design. It also has a superb automatic movement.
Pieces like the recent copper-toned 890, black-and-brilliant 880 GMT, retro-modern 870, and classically sporty 831 attest to the model’s versatility.
Attesa Appeal
Meanwhile, the Attesa collection has served as an avant-garde design platform for the watchmaker’s estimable material and technical innovations, notably the new proprietary Super Titanium alloy, which is 40% lighter and five times harder than stainless steel, and the legendary Citizen light-powered Eco-Drive technology.
Citizen’s 35th Anniversary Attesa from 2022 tells some of that combined tale, while the very recent release of two versions of the loaded-up Citizen Attesa Satellite Wave GPS F950 might provide a clue as to how experimental the new Premier category could get.
The Way Forward?
The new Premier unification will likely combine many aspects of its Series8 and Attesa forbearers, like style, flexibility, movement and material innovation, and a broad range of design, all with a promise of accessibility. But how would that all shape up under one name?
“At Citizen, we have spent more than a century perfecting the art of timekeeping,” said Jeffrey Cohen, President of Citizen Watch America, in a press announcement. “Citizen Premier is the culmination of that journey – melding our heritage with modern innovation to offer a truly refined luxury experience.”
The Premier announcement was feted in grand style at one of lower Manhattan’s most gorgeous viewing opportunities, if not one of the world’s grandest pinnacles, Aspire at One World Trade Center.
So, while the Citizen Premier's debut may be focused on the logistically considerable exercise of rebranding the Series8 and Attesa models under one name, Watchonista’s sources say that we can all look forward to a more defined premiere of the new Premier category’s spirit sometime in the next two years.
To learn more, check out Citizen’s website.